Erected by Jethro Lousley, son of Job Lousley. Provided by T Thorn, Monumental Masons of Newbury, in 1912 (cost £27 5s 5d).
The stone stands back a little from the roadside. It is rough igneous rock with a smoothed off facing surface, set with lead letters, some of which have been damaged or have disappeared, but the wording is still clear. The text Reads:
In Memory of Job Lousley of The Manor Hampstead Norreys who died July 8th 1855 aged 64 years. This monument was put up by his son Jethro Lousley to respect his father’s wish to be buried in this piece of ground but it could not be carried out as it was not consecrated and no preparations had been made so he was buried in a vault in Hampstead Norreys churchyard.
Job Lousley of The Manor, Hampstead Norreys, was a farmer, landowner, book collector, antiquarian and author, who wrote the History of Hampstead Norreys, as well as a number of books on botany, and a glossary of Berkshire provincial words, and whose library at the Manor House in Hampstead Norreys was open to his workers and tenants. He wanted to be buried on his own land, but as he had made no arrangements for this and the land was not consecrated, it was not possible, and he was buried in the churchyard, where a Grade II monument to the family is located. His second son, Jethro, born in 1835, erected the memorial stone at the site where his father had wished to be buried.
It is apparent that this was a forward thinking and innovative man, well ahead of his time in his care for his workers and his wide ranging interests. He was born in 1790, in South Moreton, moving to the estate at Hampstead Norreys in 1827, and by the 1841 census was established at The Manor House (formerly a farm house). In the 1851 census he is listed as a farmer of 850 acres.
Job Lousley’s descendants continue to live and work in the village and have recently established a community shop on part of the Manor premises, which they still own. It is important that Job’s legacy to the village should not be forgotten or overlooked, and the memorial stone forms a part of this. Since the churchyard memorial is already nationally listed, it seems appropriate to locally list the less well known, but historically important Memorial Stone on Job’s former estate.
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